Ash-sifter.



No. 678,934. Patented July 23, I90I.

L. A. BRAN$0N.-

ASH SIFTER.

(Application filed Nov. 3, 1899.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES. INVENTOR I I BY Wow WATTORNEV.

UNITED STATES PATENT Erie.

ASH-SIFTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent No. 678,934, dated July 23, 1901.

Application filed November 3,1899. Serial No. 735 ,726. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, LoUIsE A. BRANSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ash-Sifters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to ash-Sifters, and comprises a scoop adapted to be thrust into the ash-pit of a stove or furnace to transfer ashes from said pit to the sifter, a suitable door, normally closing said scoop, a discharge end, closed by a gate or door, a screen, a flexible hollow body of dust-proof incombustible material connecting said scoop and discharge end to said screen and other parts hereinafter described, the whole constituting a portable sifter which may be used in a furnished room Without scattering ashes and which may be folded in small space when not in use or for transportation.

My invention consists in the devices and the combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a right side elevation of a sifter embodying my invention, the scoop being closed, and Fig. 2 a plan of the same, parts of the hollow body being broken out in Figs. 1 and 2 to economize space in the drawings; Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2 except that the scoop is open in Fig. 3 and closed in Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a front elevation of the scoop end of the sifter; Fig. 5, a vertical longitudinal section on the line 5 5 in Fig. 6 of the screen and adjacent parts; Fig.

6, a vertical transverse section on the line 6 6 in Fig. 1; Fig. '7, a central longitudinal section on the line 7 7 in Fig. 2.

The sifter herein described consists of three parts or sections, the scoop-section A, the screen-section B, and the discharge-section C, these all being made of comparatively rigid fireproof material, preferably of sheet metal, the screen-section being connected to the other section by hollow or tubular bodies D D of flexible dust-proof and fireproof material, preferably asbestos cloth. The sections A, B, and O and the hollow connections D D are preferably rectangular in cross-section.

The scoop A consists of a box having an inclined front end a, normally closed by a door or flap a, the upper end of which turns on a rod a supported in ears a a or upward extensions of the sides a a a spring 0. (represented as a spiral spring surrounding said rod a and pressing against the top of the scoop or box A and the front of said flap) serving to close said flap and to keep the same closed. A hook a secured on the front of the flap a, may be engaged by another hook at which slides in a loop a", secured on the top of the scoop A to hold said flap open when the scoop is being used to take up the ashes or other material. The book a serves as a handle to lift the flap. The rear end of the hook at is provided with a bent-up portion or book a which prevents the shank e or sliding part of said hook at a from being removed from the loop a and also serves as a handle for said hook a The front or inclined end of the scoop is provided on the inside at the top and sides with a ledge a, on which the flap rests when closed to prevent the escape of dust.

The scoop A is provided with a yoke-shaped handle a, formed of a wire bent as shown and having the ends rigidly secured to the sides of said scoop in any convenient manner.

The screen-section B is a suitable frame containing a transversely-arranged sieve or screen I) and provided with a suitable handle 1), represented I as a yoke-shaped Wire, the sides of which are arranged to slide in grooves 12 b in the sides of said frame and retained therein by caps 19 19 which cover said grooves for some distance from the top of said frame. The ends b b of the handle 19 are bent out to project slightly from the grooves 19 b and are stopped by the caps when said handle is raised to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6.

The handle when not in use occupies the position shown by full lines in said Fig. 6, the middle portion of the handle resting on the screen-frame.

The discharge-section C is a frame containing a sliding gate 0, normally closed and opened only to discharge ashes, the rear end (the right end in Figs. 1, 2, and 7) being conveniently contracted, as shown, to form a chute or discharge-pipe c to enable the ashes to be transferred to a receptacle smaller in section than the body of the discharge-section.

The tubular connections D D between the scoop and the screen and between the screen and the discharge-section are of any suitable flexible fireproof and dust-proof material, preferably of asbestos cloth. The ends of these tubes D D are inserted in the frames or sections to which said ends respectively belong and are retained therein by sleeves d d d 01 arranged within said ends, and by rivets d which pass through said frames, sleeves, and ends in an obvious manner.

When the space in the tnbeD is sufficiently filled with ashes and cinders, the sifter is shaken, the handles being held in the hands for that purpose (both of the doors or gates a 0 being previously closed) until the ashes are separated from the coals or cinders, and the ashes are then discharged through the LOUISE. A. BRANSON.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, HORACE EMMONS HARRIS. 

